The Fiery Era: Starting from Longxugou

"Big brother, you're finally out!"

Seeing their eldest brother, Zhao Xiaoyue and the other little ones were very happy.

"Xiaoyue, Xiaole... what brings you to school?"

Zhao Shi'an was quite surprised to hear his younger siblings calling out as soon as he stepped out of the school.

He was also thinking of stopping by the Toon Tree Courtyard on his way home to collect a few small Toon trees to put in his space and sell them along with the first batch of chives on the weekend.

Although both are considered one of the four delicacies, Chinese toon is much more expensive than chives. This is because chives can be grown at home, while most Chinese toon grows wild, except for the residents of Chunshuyuan who grow it at home.

But before he could do anything, his younger siblings called out to him.

"Big brother, the postman came to deliver the newspaper and said your article was published again. We haven't seen you come back, so we came to your school! Auntie? Uncle and Auntie are home..."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Shijie immediately spoke up as if to claim credit.

"It's in the newspaper again? Let's go home and check!"

Zhao Shi'an was somewhat surprised upon hearing this. Wasn't the Youth Daily published twice a week? Every Tuesday and every Saturday? Today was Friday, so the dates didn't seem to match up at all.

"Okay!"

The little ones cheered and skipped after their older brother.

"The great writer is back!"

"Shi'an, you're back! You're really amazing! You were in the newspaper the other day, and you're in it again today. You truly are a cultured man!"

"Shi'an, you're famous now!"

"That's right! My older brother is amazing!"

Zhao Xiaoyue and Zhao Xiaole and the other little ones proudly raised their heads, looking quite honored!

Before he even entered the house, the neighbors chatting in the alley praised Zhao Shi'an, thinking to themselves that with such a promising son, Zhao Youtian's life would only get better and better.

"Aunt and Uncle, I was just lucky..."

Hearing the neighbors' praise, Zhao Shi'an remained humble, exchanging pleasantries along the way, and finally made it home.

"Shi'an, you're back! Your story 'Dragon Beard Ditch' was really well written!"

Upon seeing Zhao Shi'an, Tian Fusheng smiled and praised him.

"Hey! Uncle Tian, ​​I didn't think that much about it. I just wrote down my childhood experiences and compared them with the post-liberation period. I never expected to be selected!"

"That's your skill. Even if we wanted to write, we couldn't write that many words. Cultured people are truly amazing! Go home now! Your parents are all waiting for you!"

Tian Fusheng was deeply moved and made up his mind to make his two children study hard, so that even if they could not reach Zhao Shi'an's level, they could still become cultured people in the future.

"Hey! Uncle Tian, ​​you're busy!"

Zhao Shi'an bid farewell to Tian Fusheng and went straight home.

"Shi'an, you're really something! You wrote two articles in three days, and both were accepted. Tell me honestly, how many articles have you written? Are you expecting more newspapers to be delivered in a few days?"

Upon seeing his nephew, Zhao Youliang patted him hard on the shoulder, then pulled Zhao Shi'an around and looked him up and down, unable to hide the smile on his face.

Zhao Shi'an was nominally his nephew, but in reality, he was practically his son.

After his nephew was born, he, as the uncle, helped take care of him. When they fled famine, his nephew was only three or four years old and almost died several times. Fortunately, he was tough and the whole family helped each other to reach Longxugou.

After settling in Longxugou, he took his eldest nephew around to collect garbage and coal nuggets, and to plant vegetables in the fields. The uncle and nephew had a deep bond.

It can be said that he raised his nephew single-handedly, and now seeing him becoming more and more successful, Zhao Youliang is very happy.

"That's right, our Shi'an is a capable man!"

Sun Cuilan saw her nephew grinning from ear to ear. In her simple mind, the more capable her nephew was, the more her husband, as her nephew's uncle, would benefit from it. As the old saying goes, "When one person attains enlightenment, even his chickens and dogs ascend to heaven."

Zhao Youtian and Liu Guiying were increasingly pleased with their promising eldest son.

"Aunt, Uncle, Aunt, I only wrote two articles. I submitted them together, but only one newspaper was published. I thought it wasn't selected, but it was delivered today."

Seeing his unusually excited family, Zhao Shi'an patiently explained.

"Well, you're really capable!"

"That's right! Our Shi'an is..."

Praises poured in, and Zhao Shi'an responded with a smile, taking the newspaper from his mother and noting that it was published on April 1st.

Upon seeing the date, he thought he had misread it. After looking carefully for a long time, he finally found the newspaper's announcement on page three:

In order to meet the needs of young readers and strengthen ideological education for young people, this newspaper will change from a Tuesday to a Wednesday publication starting April 1, 1954, to be published every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. We hope that readers from all walks of life will be aware of this.

After reading the notice, Zhao Shi'an suddenly realized that the newspaper had been redesigned.

"You got it! Hurry up and eat! The eldest has an exam tomorrow! We'll talk about it after the exam!"

When Liu Guiying saw her eldest son put down the newspaper, she immediately started preparing dinner.

"Yes, yes! Shi'an, eat more and do well on your exams!"

Zhao Youliang slapped his forehead, immediately realizing that he had been too happy and almost made his nephew miss his exam.

After chatting for a while, Zhao Youliang took his wife and children home.

After dinner, Zhao Shi'an went to rest on the kang (a heated brick bed). He continued taking exams the next day, Saturday. After finishing the last subject in the afternoon, it was time for his weekend rest.

The next day, before dawn, Zhao Shi'an got up and went to the vegetable garden with his parents.

Today is April 4th, and tomorrow is Qingming Festival, which is the time when the first batch of chives is the most expensive.

Arriving at the field in the dark, Zhao Shi'an took a sickle and began to select chives. The family planted chives on two acres of land. The first batch of chives had the lowest yield, and even after harvesting them all, it would only yield a few dozen kilograms. Although the yield was low, it was the family's biggest source of income in the spring.

Chives don't grow all at once. Those facing the sun grow faster, while those facing the shade grow slower. Some are strong, while others are weak, and there is a significant difference in their height.

The main purpose of harvesting chives is for selection. The ideal harvest length is about 18-20 centimeters. If the chives are cut too short, the farmer will lose out; if they are too long, they will be too old and restaurants will not accept them.

Zhao Shi'an picked up a sickle, used his mind to select and cut chives as he went, and soon he had cut a large bunch of chives, which he put into a willow basket and continued to cut.

The family worked hard for a long time, and the entire two-tenths of an acre was harvested, filling two willow baskets. Zhao Shi'an weighed them and estimated that they weighed only about ten pounds in total. The chives were fluffy and large, with dew still clinging to the leaves. Despite the large quantity, they were actually not heavy at all.

"That's about it, I'll go check on the second brother!"

As he spoke, Zhao Youtian picked up a sickle and went to help his younger brother.

After harvesting all the leeks, the members of the mutual aid society carried their loads and walked together toward Hademen Street.

Zhao Shi'an carried his load and followed the flow of people.

There are three streets near the goldfish pond. The closest to his house is Dongxiaoshi Street, the further one is Huashi Street, and the furthest one is Hademen Street.

Dongxiao City caters to the lower classes, offering high-quality goods at low prices. However, the first harvest of leeks is too expensive, so no one is willing to buy them.

Flower Market Street caters to ordinary citizens and small vendors, and is considered a popular destination for the middle class.

Hademen Street is the top commercial district in the southern part of the city, gathering large restaurants, time-honored eateries, high-end shops, government compounds, military officer family quarters, and wealthy families. It is only a ten-minute walk from the embassy area, and foreigners can often be seen in Hademen.

The first harvest of chives is best sold at Hademen and can fetch a high price. If you're not satisfied, you can go directly to Qianmen Street or Wangfujing!